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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Three years ago I watched Kona Ironman World Championships on TV
inspired seeing what it took to become a top class ironman, i saved all
my babysitting money to go watch my friend Monica Moreno, now captain
Jeri Howland and my hero pro Meredith Kessler
in IMAZ. I stood for 17hrs that day glued to scene I waited hrs to give
them one little cheer and it was one of my greatest days in triathlon-
that day i walked away totally inspired my heart was set, one day I was
going to be ironman . Within a short 2yrs I quickly entered and had
success on the triathlon scene, not being able to ride a bike,
experiencing a bike crash that saw a handle bar go through my knee and a
pedal through my foot, left not being able to walk for weeks and a
fractured leg, I worked hard everyday (but for me it was not work I had
found a passion) early mornings, late nights, many sacrifices.

My dream started to come true I place top ten in all half ironman and
ironman races 2011/2012 as well as qualifying for the World Championship
70.3 Ironman Championships in 2011 and 2012 going sub 5hours at Vineman
70.3, and one slot off Kona ironman world championships in my 2nd
Ironman at AZ with a 10.41 - 5th place, taking overall winner in two
Aqua bike long course competitions, and 2nd at the regional aqua bike
championships this year. It had been a quick rise and I found it really
hard to even believe I was doing what a couple years ago I sat in ore at
those who did this, it still really didn't ever set in that I had
achieved what I had.

Then August 26th 2012, 10wks post stress
fracture of the femur came the day I became one of those people I used
to sit in the crowd and wonder how they could race 2.4mile swim, 112mile
bike and then run a marathon and not just make it but race it ??????
and win, winning my fiercely competitive age group at the Kentucky
ironman one of the hardest on the circuit, something I never in my
wildest dreams thought could really happen, and as I described the
moment of running down fourth street in my fb post nothing ever ever
could buy that moment or can ever take it away from me- to win my AG at
an ironman just my third time, I thought about all the sacrifices, the
people that had helped me get there, finding I was stronger then I
thought I could ever be, I step over that line and I cry, so emotional, I
can't explain it nor would words do it justice the feeling of what you
have just achieved and Its only an ironman that you can share tears with
a complete stranger in the volunteers arms who shared tears with you
and it be the most amazing moment !!!!

My coach found me, the
look of pride in his eyes and the hug that represented that of the
journey we both had been on the kiss on the forehead as if to say I know
- we did it! That moment will stick with me forever.......

The
next day I stood up on the podium in first place, thinking this is me
actually up here, where only yesterday it felt like I was in crowd going
wow how in the hec do they do this thing?!!!!

It also taught
me you just need to know what you want and get after it, if you really
want it you will find a way. I won on a hand me down helmet, hand me
down glasses, entry level bike shoes i had had since i started riding,
borrowed wheels, working endless hrs after long days of training and
studying when i so wanted to go to sleep etc the list goes on but you
know it didnt make any difference and in fact when it got tough out
there it made me stronger and gave me fuel to keep going for those who
had supported me and to remember all those long nights were for this
what I saved so hard for it was time enjoy!!!!

And there it was my slot to Kona to be amongst the best of the best- a dream come true !!!!!

Monday, September 17, 2012

I arrived in
Las Vegas Friday morning with a winning attitude and a strong
well-prepared body. I knew it would be hot so I grabbed a few extra
items of clothing to change into upon arrival from the SF Bay Area and
hitched a ride to the 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Championships expo and
registration, located at T2 in Henderson, NV.

When I stepped into the
expo I simply was aghast. The heat was intolerable to me-- I felt like I
had on an astronaut suit on, head gear and all. I met a few friends
from the Bay Area and the talk was easy - it's hot, have you swam yet,
aero helmet or no aero helmet for race day, etc. It occurred to me that
this weather was hottest I've ever been in. let alone raced in. The temp
in my friend's car was 106.

To
avoid the muddy waters of Lake Las Vegas, my buddies and I went out to
Lake Mead for a swim. How strange, - the water felt like it was coming
from thermal hot springs. It was what you would expect from a hot tub,
not a high desert lake surrounded by big mountains. It was the next
glimpse at the conditions we'd be dealing with for race day.

Race day:

I
awoke in plenty of time to have my pre-race breakfast and coffee and
walk 1/2 mile to race start. I stepped onto the deck off my hotel room
and looked at the lake. Unlike a typical race morning in Kona, there
was no movement. The palm trees were still, the lake was still. The air
temp was 85. Compared to the whipping winds of Kona this seemed like a
good thing. My wave was the first of the amateurs at 6:40 am which meant
I would have a real chance of getting in before the heat of the day -
except when the day begins at 85 degrees you're already there.

At the swim start,I put
myself at the front of the wave and when the gun went off I dug deep and
went as hard as I could for 400 yards until I was clear of the pack and
able to get into my sustainable pace. Nothing felt bad, though nothing
felt great on my swim and though i was 2nd out of the water for my age
group I had a record slow 1.2 miles for me. 34 min. I have to say my
new Zoot Speed Suit felt fantastic and it was easy to get it off. The
run through transition was long but once I got to my bike I was close to
the big hill out of T1 that takes you up to the bike mount line. Check.
I had everything i needed on the bike - regular helmet vs aero helmet
so i could soak my head with water, race fuel in my little waist belt,
race #, sun glasses, shoes. Bike was ready to go.

I
was no sooner out on the course than I realized my #s, particularly
power, were low. While it seemed I was pushing i was coming up short.
Why I wondered. Don't worry, ride hard, this is the world championships.
The course was hot already and soon enough studly young guys were
passing me. That's ok, stay focused. Drink. Drink. Drink. Why don't I
have zone 3 #s on my power meter? In the end, my bike was slower than i
planned and my energy on the low side. Buy when I got off the bike
(remember....this was my 4th race this year after 32 years of racing --
I'm no stranger to the brick!!), I felt like i had a car on my
shoulders. I could barely hold up my body. But the determination was
there. Go. Go. Do not fret this - get ice and drink drink drink.

I
put a block of ice inside my bra and one down my shorts. The latter
made it hard to run so it came out, but i did make a serious effort to
keep ice on body whenever possible. The aid stations came soon enough.
And I was not motoring through them like I did 2 months earlier at
Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens where I won my age division by 13 minutes.
Today's run was a struggle from the first mile and I hated to see myself
get slower and slower. By mile 8 my muscles from my hips to big toes
were cramping, at times stopping me dead in my tracks. Never did i think
i would not finish but there were a few moments where the body was
challenging the mind. I would lash back with a thought like this: 'come
hell or high water we are finishing this event." And onward at a pace
and mindset I really didn't plan for at this event. I had my mind set on
a podium finish, like 2006 at Clearwater. Well after my intended goal, I
finished with the rare no-smiley Jeri Howland face. I didn't even punch
my arms in the air, something I love to do at every finish line. This
week has been a low one because I feel very disappointed in my
performance but I force myself to glean what's possible and look towards
a better day in the future.

Lessons learned:

1. Finishing is infinitely better than a DNF, no matter the finish time.

2.
Pride may be hurt, but it will heal (one week later, I'm still a bit
upset but my sights are moving forward to racing in the winter!)

3. There are many very impressive athletes in our midst - old and young a like - and this inspires me.

4.
My body is a mystery. There is still more to learn about how to work it
under these conditions, but I may choose to completely avoid hot races.

5. My husband
is still my most wonderful wonderful ironmate and no matter how lousy I
feel about these matters, he sees the silver lining and reasons to love
me more!

Well, 5 weeks after Lake Placid, I decided to give another
go at another tough Ironman course.The
reason for this is that I felt good after Placid (well, I thought I did – not
injured at least, or so I thought!), and I was not done for the season in my mind.
I was coming off of a great Lake Placid experience, and I was still hungry to
race.We knew that we had no idea how my
body would do with two such challenging races back to back, but I wanted to
give it a shot. I had nothing to lose!

The only issue that developed in the weeks leading into the
race is that left leg/foot issue that was slowly developing before Lake Placid
was steadily getting worse/not better. I my sports med doctor, a neuro (albeit
not a sports neuro), did nerve conduction testing, went to PT, etc. No one
could figure out what was causing this strange issue while on the bike.I could still ride, but just awkwardly with
that left leg and it was not that comfortable. I certainly had a hard time putting
out higher power numbers, but Ironman watts seemed to be manageable. So I
decided I could still go forward with racing and just see what would
happen.I had no idea to be honest how
my leg and foot would hold up over 112 miles in the heat.I knew that I had just done it though, albeit
on a more “normally” functioning leg, so I had that to draw from. Things seemed
to be good on the run, but I probably felt a little “off” with my left calf and
foot, but not nearly the issues I was having on the bike.The rest of my body felt awesome!

So I have to say that I got to Louisville to race the least
confident I have ever been about a race. I did not share this with many people,
my coach included, but I was nervous as hell about how that bike would go and
how it would affect my run.The last
time I felt like anything similar to this was at Ironman Hawaii last year when
I raced with a torn hamstring and just could not run! I knew this was different
in that I was pretty sure I could get my body in some form or fashion to the
finish line. The question would be if good enough for top 2 or 3 in my age
group so I could try and qualify for Kona.Although, I honestly went in having mixed feelings on if it would even
be worth it for me to go to Kona feeling like this, but I figured, “cross that
bridge if and when you get to it”…you need to get there first.

Pre-race meal and day were identical to that of Lake
Placid.Woke up at 3:50 AM Race day
again so that I could get to transition by 4:40 to set up my bike quickly and
then get a place in line for the time trial swim start.Had my shower, usual breakfast and off I
went.I got to my bike and put my food
and bottles on the bike, SRM head unit and then went to find my friend Heather
who brought her pump to transition. We pumped the front no problem, but found
the rear tire would take no air. It had gone completely flat overnight! Now I
was glad I had left some air in my tires overnight so I could see I had an
issue. I panicked for a moment as I knew I need to get in line for the swim
start, but I had to see the bike techs to fix my issue. Luckily it was early
and line not too long. After about 30-45 minutes there, they fixed my flat with
a new tube, and I was able to get going to the start. Everyone I knew racing
was already down there, so it was nice to take a few minutes walking by myself
to think POSITIVE thoughts about my day ahead and the fact that hopefully all
my misfortune had passed at this point. I got to the long line that had formed
and luckily found Felicity and Seth pretty close to the front, so I was
excited. Now it was round 6:00AM so only an hour to wait.Took my gel around 6:45 and two salt tabs
and got ready to start. We jumped in the water at 7:07, so we were in pretty
good shape as to the start time!The
Time Trial start was a blast.Don’t get
me wrong, you are still dealing with a lot of people around you, but you can
get around them. I swam inside, close to the island until we turned to head
back to transition and then stayed next to the buoy line. Never had a draft,
but that was ok, I just swam my race and it felt good.Warm, but good! I got out of the water at
1:05 and I was happy for a non-wetsuit swim.

I got onto the bike, half praying that my issue would have
miraculously gone away, but it was there from the first pedal stroke, so I just
put it out of my mind and said “deal with it!”The first 10 miles are flat and fast, so I chose to push higher watts
here and really pushed the watts a bit higher until the start of the first
loop.I was going back and forth a
woman in the 45-49 age group for a long time and we were having fun.I saw some packs, but nothing like Lake
Placid as this course is all about rollers and they break up pretty
quickly.The Louisville bike course is
definitely hilly and challenging, particularly on a hot day! My nutrition was
spot on, I was taking 1-2 water bottles at each aid station, and I was making
do with my leg. My watts seemed to be where we wanted them to be, or really the
best I could ask for with my leg.The second
loop, all of those rollers catch up with you and it certainly is getting quite
hot. I felt that I was still able to hold my watts pretty well, but we were
also starting to battle a head wind, so that was not fun!Because of my awkward pedal stroke, my left
foot was getting really sore and hot on the metatarsal area, so I kept dumping
water on my foot and moving it around to try and help the pain a bit.The last 10 miles are flat again as you come
back to town, but it was now quite hot and we had quite a headwind…not
fun!I felt my bike was strong all
things considered and everything except the leg felt good!That bike course will keep you honest for
the run with 5500 feet of climbing!

In transition I was a bit slower than normal, going to the
bathroom, making sure I drank, getting sunscreen, etc. so I knew I was ready
for that hot run.When I took my left
bike shoe off, I saw that I had bloodied one toe and one was already developing
a bad blood blister due to the awkward pedal stroke. So I put some hydropel on
those areas and just HOPED all would be ok on the run.Everything started off ok, albeit hot.I also took my first gel and salt tabs at
mile 4 on the run and started walking the aid stations here.I also thought that with the walk breaks I
could try and take away some of the pain on my feet.Unfortunately, I was not so lucky this
time.I had excruciating pain starting
to develop at the ends of my toes and the ball of my foot on the left side,
each step was very difficult.Sometimes,
it would come and go, but it was pretty much there most of the race.By about mile 10, I knew I was in for a long
run. I never felt good, this one was going to be a struggle.I was now in 2nd place, but hoping
my body would hold out for a good marathon at least. I had just done this 5
weeks prior right?I took my gels every
4 miles and salt tabs and alternated IM perform and water at each aid station,
but my legs felt like LEAD (I am ignoring my foot now). They just got heavier
and heavier and just would NOT move the way I wanted them to.It took every bit of positive mental
strength not to just stop and walk. I had never felt like this before.My guess is LP ironman was still in those
legs.By mile 21 I was seriously
questioning my ability to finish, but I quickly put that out of my mind and
just kept going- SLOWLY – but going. My foot was in so much pain at this point,
it almost did not matter.This is where
I was passed by 2 women in my age group, but I did not know what loop they were
on. I assumed BOTH were on their first loop, so it was a little disheartening
to now think I was in 4th, but I was bound and determined that I was
NOT going to quit and I would finish.I
also did not want to get passed again.So, I am not sure how, I swear, but I crossed that finish line absolutely
miserable!Gardie was not there, but
the catchers took me to medical as I was really not able to walk very well. I
spent two hours in the med tent, getting an IV and also icing, etc.I think I got some nausea medicine as
well!It was then I found out I
actually got 3rd! WOW, I was shocked and thrilled! Although part of
me wishes I just could have pushed that extra minute SOMEWHERE along the way to
remain at second. But I could not think that way as this is where the cards
fell on that day.To be honest, I knew
that it would be SILLY to race another ironman even if I HAD qualified for Kona
until I got my left leg figured out in some way!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Wow
the team is on fire another big weekend of racing and podiums. Flick
went back two weeks after a sub 5hr 70.3 Vineman to podium in second
place in the Southwest Regional Aqua Bike championships, placing 4th
overall female, 7th overall male and female with a new bike PR!

Meanwhile
out on the course also was Sandy doing us proud crushing her
competition to take 1st in her Age Division and 10th overall in the
highly contested Barbs Race way to make your mark back into the racing
scene can't get much better then No. 1 awesome job!!

Team
member Natalie Jackson showed them what we are made of when she lit up
the bike course at Lake Placid Ironman on July 22 ,coming home with impressive
results - finished 8th overall woman and 4th in
age group (fiercely competitive). Nat's comments "Was a tough day with
heat and winds on the bike…making an already tough course even
tougher!! Now I am taking my fitness and moving on to race Louisville!"
way to represent Nat!

This
past weekend saw the team support a local event, the Marin Century. It
was an epic day! Fun, fast, cold - great opportunity to work on some new
nutrition plans with use of great aid stations and course mapped out!!!
Fun to see team members popping up everywhere amongst it!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Team Director Jeri Howland recently qualified for the 70.3 World Championships by winning her age division with an impressive
third victory at Lake Stevens 70.3 race. Don't count her out
on September 9 in Las Vegas; she's hit the podium three times at the Long Course World
Championships.

Race day at Lake Stevens 70.3 was cold, wet and windy. Jeri was
first of the ladies in white caps coming out of the 1.2 mile swim; the
new 56 mile bike course proved to be especially technical with the rain;
but she held her ground eventually capturing the age group win by over
13 minutes to her nearest competitor. The cooler temperatures, she
agrees, suited her well although it took 4 miles to feel her feet on the
run!